CHAPTER 10
"In Shelia's account of the affair, Maple found the details for the curse," Gage said, relating the details of the "true" account, as given to him by Spike. "She performed the spell and Angelus' soul was returned."
"I'm curious, Professor," Willow interrupted Gage, her voice solicitous and polite sounding to the rest of the class. To Buffy, though, the undercurrent of tension it was laced with came through loud and clear. Glancing in concern at her friend, the blonde noticed Willow had on her most innocent face – one she used around the Scoobies only when she was factiously feigning naiveté. Buffy's suspicions were confirmed when she also noted Spike's posture on the other side of the witch. While he remained slumped, she could almost feel the tension radiating out of his body. It was an unusual vibe to be picking up off the normally cocky and self-assured vampire, especially in public.
Gage turned his attention to the redhead who had spoken and waited for her to continue, pleased by her interest in the story. He had been surprised the previous evening when Spike had informed him that Willow wasn't all that familiar with his history, nor that of the other members of the Scourge – especially when it came to Angelus' time in Sunnydale. Mentally, Gage shrugged the seeming discrepancy off, assuming Willow had joined the group after the events he was currently recounting.
"The dates of Shelia's," Willow paused, slightly tripping over the next word, "…affair with Angel seem very convenient."
"Ah, you have a good eye, er ear, for detail, Miss Rosenberg," Gage said. "Indeed in fictitious stories illicit love affairs often produce children who later play a substantive role."
"But I thought vampires were impotent," Buffy interjected, having figured out the direction in which the tale was rapidly careening. Batting her eyelashes to play up the ditzy blonde image she knew others often so easily relegated her to, the young woman continued. "I mean, they said so on that one movie."
"Hey now!" Spike sat up indignantly. As all eyes turned to him, he quickly remembered where he was and that neither the stinging comment about how knowledgeable Buffy really was in the area of vampire sexual activity nor the leer and offer to show her how potent some vampires could be would be acceptable. While he had no problem with taunting Buffy – she wouldn't hit him in front of all these people – Spike was still aware of the irritated redhead next to him. Deciding that, in this case, discretion was the better part of survival, Spike continued, his tones matching the innocence the two women were portraying on their faces. "Didn't you read the assignment? I believe William–"
"Yes, well," Gage interrupted loudly, cutting off the two blonds. By now he had figured out that Buffy's comment was only to bait Spike, and the professor hoped to avoid any comments from the group which would disclose their insider knowledge of the Scourge, like their remarks about Drusilla had the previous class. "What Miss Rosenberg is asking is whether or not Angelus was indeed Maple's father. The answer to that question is 'yes.'"
Willow allowed herself to take satisfaction in the fact that the vampire at her side had subtly shifted as far away from her as the seat would allow, which wasn't more than a couple of inches. Now that she thought about it, Willow didn't really mind Spike's exaggerations all that much. In fact, some of them were quite humorous. But there was no reason to let Spike know that. Willow's eyes lit up as she decided it was time to remind Spike he wasn't the only one with teeth, even if hers were a bit more mystical than actual canines. She reached over casually and patted Spike's knee before giving it a hard squeeze. Willow felt his leg go stiff under her grip and allowed a wicked smile to cross her face. Focusing her mind, the witch cast her voice into the vampire's head and spoke slowly and deliberately. Big. Fluffy. White. Bunny.
"So," Willow continued aloud, her voice again innocent, having lost all the menace it contained when being projected into Spike's mind. "Let's see if I have this straight. Shelia and Angel–, Angelus have an affair, the product of which is an illicit love child, Maple. Later, when Angel falls for Maple's best friend, the Vampire Slayer, he loses the soul Shelia and the vengeance demon Anyanka cursed him with. Maple re-curses Angel and finds out the truth about her parentage."
Gage nodded confirmation and one of the students seated a few rows back from the trio piped up hopefully, "So, what happened then, did he and the Slayer live happily ever after?"
Next to Willow, Spike again shifted in his seat. While it was hardly an unusual occurrence for the normally hyperactive vampire to fail to sit still, Willow noted the movement and accurately guessed that what was to come was more exaggerated fabrication.
"No," Gage replied to the other student's question sadly. "Unfortunately, Angelus, or rather Angel, as the souled version was called, was not fated to a happy ending."
Both women picked up on the verb tense, but it was Buffy who leaned over to glare at Spike as she softly inquired in a dangerous tone, "Was?"
Turning a sad gaze Buffy's way, as Gage once again remembered that he was speaking of the Slayer's love's tragic end, the professor continued. "After regaining his soul, Angel worked to find redemption. He worked as kind of a modern day superhero – fighting evil wherever it lurked. His motto was to help those in need. It was this altruistic desires that were his final undoing."
Buffy sighed and muttered, "I know I'm going to regret this, but," before addressing Gage at a normal speaking level. "What happened?"
Gage was momentarily taken aback that the young Slayer was the one to pose the question. Of course, considering the vampire's tragic end, he supposed she simply wanted this portion of the story to be over with as quickly as possible. As kindly as he could, he explained to the rest of the class. "One day, Angel climbed a tree to rescue a kitten."
At this point, Willow knew that Angel's "death" was going to be as ridiculous as possible and she bit her lip to prevent any outward reaction from showing. Knowing Spike, the next part of the tale could be anything from Angel being struck by lighting and bursting into flame to the vampire remembering he was afraid of heights and being stuck in the tree until the sun rose, at which point he would again combust.
"Unfortunately, the animal was very high up where the branches are much thinner," Gage continued. "Angel underestimated his own weight, and the branch he was standing on broke, sending the vampire plummeting towards the ground."
"You think that's Spike's way of calling Angel fat?" Buffy whispered to Willow. The redhead only nodded, still trying to maintain her composure, waiting for the punch line of the story.
"Normally such a fall, even from a great height, wouldn't be enough to seriously harm a vampire," Gage said. "However, the branch Angel had been climbing on twisted under him, and he landed on it."
Both Slayer and witch realized at the same time where the story was headed. Buffy closed her eyes and clenched her fists, knowing she couldn't just haul off and slug Spike in the middle of the classroom. Willow, deciding that she wasn't going to have to jump between the two, glanced over at the vampire and saw Spike's patented smirk firmly in place.
"The limb had twisted just enough that one of its branches pierced Angel's heart, killing him as surely as a wooden stake."
* * * * *
Tara paused in the hallway, pulling her shoulder bag around in front of her as she dug through it, looking for the right book. Her class had let out early, so she was going to wait for Willow outside the redhead's classroom. The blonde witch's motions stilled as she heard a faint skittering noise. Quickly looking up, she glimpsed something moving around the corner ahead of her. She wasn't sure what she's seen, but whatever it was had been low to the ground and fast moving. Tara was also left with the unsettling impression that the thing had many, many legs.
A chill went up the young woman's spine as her mind jumped to the logical conclusion. She wanted to dismiss the idea that it was one of the spiders outright. After all, they weren't supposed to be social creatures. They shouldn't be in such a heavily populated area. On the other hand, Tara reasoned, they shouldn't be that big either. And the university did have the dubious distinction of sitting atop the caves and tunnels the Initiative had once called home.
Dropping the book she'd finally managed to located back into the bag and instead withdrawing the stake she carried there for emergencies, the blonde witch stole cautiously forward, straining her ears for the slightest noise that would tell her where whatever she'd glimpsed was.
At the corner, Tara stopped, mentally cursing the well lit hallway for not casting shadows. In the short time between when she'd first spotted something amiss and when she'd reached the corner, the witch had convinced herself that it was defiantly one of the spiders, and further that the spider was now waiting just around the corner, on the ceiling, ready to descend the second she stepped under it. Shadows would have given her more of an idea of where anything lurking might be. As it was, the bright florescent lights pretty much eliminated that possibility.
Carefully Tara snuck her head around the corner, trying to look at the ceiling, walls, and floor all at the same time. While nothing dropped down on her from above, she allowed her gaze to travel farther down the corridor. What she saw made her stop short. Not ten feet down the hall, the spider she'd seen – and indeed that's what it was – was climbing a net of silky strands that reached nearly all the way to the ceiling. There was just enough room at the top for the spider to clear the web before descending on the other side.
About six feet farther down the hall was another, identical net. Only this one had three of the monstrous spiders climbing its outside wall, also headed for the space between the two webs. While this scene was certainly an unpleasant image and reminder of just how big the damn things were, what really chilled Tara's blood was what was between the two web-walls. Huddled together, their backs against one of the hallway's concrete walls, were a trio of young girls in matching sorority sweatshirts – probably freshmen, Tara decided.
The hall was eerily quiet as the hideous creatures silently made their ascent. Tara's mind raced. Maybe she could have taken out one with her stake, but not four. And if they got to the girls . . .
A faint whimper from one of the victims reached Tara's ears, spurring the blonde into action. Tearing her eyes from the scene, she raced past the corridor the spiders had commandeered, towards the classroom Willow was in. Tara wasn't certain she and Willow would be able to handle the spiders themselves, but there wasn't time to get anyone else.
When she skidded to a stop outside the classroom's door, she felt a rush of relief wash over her as she spotted Buffy and Spike in the class with her girlfriend.
* * * * *
Willow fought the laughter she felt bubbling up inside her. Professor Gage had just revealed to the class what "the author" had envisioned for the character of William the Bloody. A giggle escaped her and she quickly started coughing, hoping to cover it. Next to her Buffy was being less subtle in hiding her laughter.
"Oh shut up," Spike grumbled from Willow's other side. "It's not that farfetched."
"It really, really is," Willow began. She stopped speaking, though, as she caught a glimpse of a familiar form skidding to a stop through the classroom door's window. What worried Willow the most wasn't that Tara was outside the classroom, nor that she had obviously been running. It was the stake she could still see clutched in the other witch's hand.
Buffy and Spike. Now! Tara's voice rang in Willow's head, the tension in the blonde's voice loud and clear, even though the statement was telepathic.
What is it? Do you need me, too? Willow asked even as she elbowed the blonds on either side of her and nodded towards the door.
Four spiders. Tara's reply, broadcast to Buffy and Spike as well as Willow this time, was terse as she assessed the pros and cons. If all three left the room, it was likely the rest of the class would follow, which meant more possibility of someone getting in the way, not to mention witnesses. They have three girls trapped.
Without having heard Willow's question, Buffy put her hand on the redhead's arm as she rose. "Stay," she whispered, having arrived at the same conclusion as Tara about the problems extra people could cause. "Don't let them follow us."
Gage stopped his lecture mid-word and looked at the Slayer and vampire in surprise as the rose in unison and quickly headed for the door. When both ignored him, he turned his questioning gaze to Willow. She smiled in what she hoped was a comforting manner and shook her head slightly, trying to convey that everything was alright. From the enthusiasm he'd exhibited upon meeting Spike, she suspected that if he knew what was going on, he'd be the first one out the door, following the warriors.
* * * * *
Buffy only slowed her mad dash down the hall long enough to smash open a glass case and extract the fire axe inside. As she and Spike rounded the corner, she was only marginally surprised to see that he had produced a large, wicked looking knife from somewhere under his duster. By this time the spiders had all cleared the tops of their respective web-walls. The lone spider was about half-way down the inside of his wall, while the others were higher up on their own.
Quickly glancing at Tara, Buffy noticed for the first time the stake the blonde witch was still clutching. Knowing that such a close range weapon wasn't going to be much good against the spiders, especially not for someone with limited fighting experience, like Tara, Buffy gestured with the axe and said, "Go see if you can find another one of these."
Tara nodded and took off down the hall. Exchanging a wary glance with Spike as they both remembered how sticky the spider's webs they were going to have to go through were, Buffy took a breath.
"Let's go, Double O Peroxide."
+++++++++++++++++++++++
A/N: What's that you say? I should be drug out into the street and shot for making you wait eleven whole months (to the day) for a new chapter? Well, yeah, I supposed I'd have to agree with you there. But then you would never get the rest of this story, now would you? And in the next couple of weeks, you've got a really good chance of hearing the end. So, please, hold off on any violence until then.
And thanks if you're still reading, even though it's probably been long enough for you to forget the story. I appreciate it. And I swear I will finish this. In a reasonable time frame, this time.
